Texas power grid operator’s terminated after winter storm

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The board that oversees the Texas Electric Reliability Board, the independent non-profit organization that manages and manages the electricity network that covers much of Texas, fired Bill Magness, CEO of ERCOT, Wednesday night.

The council’s move to vote in favor of a ’60-day termination notice ‘came after meeting for more than three hours in a private executive session. The council barely discussed its decision after returning to the public hearing.

The decision is the latest in a series of recent announcements by the ERCOT Board, which also includes Magness. Five councilors resigned in late February after public criticism that many councilors were not living in Texas. Magness’ absence leaves a mix of vacancies and temporary members in the 16-member ERCOT board. ERCOT and the Texas Public Utilities Commission, the regulatory body that oversees it, have been paralyzed over the past few weeks due to failures that prepared for and responded to the winter storm that left millions of people in the dark for days and the lives of dozens. claimed.

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On Monday, Lieutenant-General Dan Patrick called on both Magness and the chairman of the PUC to resign. DeAnn Walker, the former chairman of the PUC, resigned the same day. She has been sharply criticized by lawmakers after largely blaming Texas’ power outages to ERCOT, the agency that oversees her agency. Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday named Walker’s replacement.

Magness, which endured more than five hours of interrogation by state senators on Thursday, was criticized for preparing the organization for a winter storm. ERCOT underestimated the maximum amount of power that would be required by homes, businesses and industries during a severe winter storm, and it overestimated the amount of power generation that would be available during such a storm.

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When enormous amounts of power began to descend from the outside in the early hours of February 15, far beyond what was expected, ERCOT network operators had to order essential businesses to launch controlled interruptions to prevent the entire system from collapsing. Lawmakers have complained that the network manager has not done enough to warn state leaders or the public of the impending disaster.

In his testimony last week, Magness defended the handling of ERCOT interruptions and told lawmakers that if ERCOT operators did not act as they did, ‘the suffering we saw last week would be exacerbated’ and Texans would probably be without power for weeks. Magness has also defended ERCOT as an export entity ordered by state and PUC lawmakers.

“The commission approves the policy, we implement it,” Magness said.

Magness told lawmakers he earns $ 803,000 annually, which he says comes from Texans who pay their electric bills.

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Magness did not talk about the decision of the board, but only that he remembered the vote because it involved himself. Magness also said he was not present for any relevant discussion during the private executive session.

Walker, who testified after Magness during the hearings with legislators, said she did not agree with his characterization of the PUC’s great oversight of ERCOT, saying the commission “did not give legal authority to the legislature. to require winter weathering, ” concerns after the power crisis was accelerated by power stations that stumbled offline. Many generators are not built to withstand extreme cold weather temperatures in Texas.

Magness worked at ERCOT for more than a decade and became CEO and president in 2016 after serving as chief executive. He previously held executive management positions in the public and private utilities industries. He was previously an advocate in state and federal government affairs.

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